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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Sandi, Mary and Charlie arrived just before 11:00 pm on Wednesday and we all went to bed soon after. Since neither Sandi or I eat very much it made no sense to cook a full turkey, so we had decided to get a turkey breast. I cooked it in the slow cooker with veggies and did some easy side dishes. I turned out to be a light Thanksgiving Dinner and we even had left overs. I did have to work in the afternoon in the office (but only for and hour, we closed early) and Charlie came with me and helped in the store. Since it gets dark so early, we all went to bed early.

Since it was Black Friday, we decided to check out the San Marcos Outlet Mall. Neither one of us had a lot of money to spend or really needed anything, so we just went into a few stores. Sandi did find a T shirt that she has been looking for and I found a set of Orgreenic Cookware. I already had the sauté pan and like it. When I got home I got rid of the old and put away the new.

Then we went to Landa Park in New Braunfels where took pictures and just messed around. That’s Charlie, Sandi and Mary posing with the geese in the picture above.

more geese and a duck

a muskrat? or a ????

We didn’t stay long or see too much of the park as I had to be back to go to work by 3:00 pm. Charlie came along again and made himself useful. Sheila even let him drive one of the golf carts. He wanted to have a campfire, so we got some wood before we went home.

Saturday started out with a black water issue. Friday we dumped the black water, but it seemed to be stopped up and wasn’t flowing very well and decided to take care of it in the morning. We tried using the Sani-Flush to fill it and tried to dump again, still stopped up! I also had a wand attachment for a hose to use in the toilet. Then we tried using the back flush portion of the clear plastic connection that attaches to the sewer hose. That seemed to work, but also used the wand again trying to clear the sensors. That must be the problem as it still reads the same as it has been for a while. I think that I will get 20 #s of ice at Buckee’s before I head back to the park after all the repairs are done to “My Spot”.

I didn’t have to work, so later we went to the Aquarena in San Marcos and check out the glass bottom boats. I took a lot of pictures, but will tell you all about it in another post. Later when we got home Charlie got his campfire.

Sunday morning Sandi and the kids had to leave to get back to Fort Worth. We all had a good Holiday.

Yes I’m back at Camping World (CW) again. They finally got the approval from the Insurance Company. It may take a couple of days to get it all done.

Colleen, of Traveling with Long Dogs met me at CW and we went out for breakfast. Thank you Colleen for breakfast. There was a lot to catch up on since the Pink Flamingos’ GTG. From there we made a stop at the oldest bakery in TX, and the Christmas Shoppe, also in New Braunfels.

plenty of parking for your reindeer

Then we went to Gruene, TX to check out all the little shops in the old downtown and uptown areas. Angel was happy to get out and walk with us. She even got to go in the some of the stores as long as I held her, She couldn’t be happier.

The Gristmill, oldest Dancehall in TX

I had not been to Gruene before, it’s a neat little town. The only thing that called to me to buy was some Fickle Pickles. Yummy !!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The Pecan Festival started early. Friday I didn’t work, but setup my table up in the Club House. I had to start at 9:00 am Saturday. From then on the day just flew by. Between selling my cards and painting a few faces, I was kept busy. Although I did take some time to check out some of the other vendors, and spent half of what I made on some things from the ladies from the church that I attend.

The last one is for Sandi, as she has this thing about Coffee.

The bottom two are of the same thing, 2nd one is shown open.

There were some other things that other vendors offered, that were really neat, however I really didn’t need “Barefoot Sandals” or any “Boot Bling”. (They were cool though.) One of the vendors did some amazing “Wood Sculptures”. (No Pics)

Since this was the first Pecan Festival, there were near a dozen vendors, a bake sale, pecan cooking contest, and a kid’s area. There were kids looking for a clock and a pecan pie and I finally realized that they were wanting pictures for the Scavenger Hunt. They were having a good time,

There was a Bounce Castle and a Put Put contest (in the background)

In between sales and face painting, I was able to get some painting done. One was in acrylic and the other is in watercolor, neither one is finished yet.

By 4:00 pm people began packing up. There would be a bonfire and a concert by Clifton Jansky at 5:00 until 8:00 pm with dancing too. Those that stayed had a really good time. I certainly enjoyed it. (again no pics) All in all, I think that it was a success and that they will do it again next year.

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This week I have been getting things ready for a visit from my daughter, Sandi and grandchildren, Mary and Charlie. I started cleaning from one end to the other. I will periodically get out the steam cleaner to sanitize every thing. The steam mop works great, however my hand held steamer wouldn’t produce steam. I called the manufacturer to try to troubleshoot the problem. It is just a couple of days out of warrantee, but they will still replace it and are sending a return label for me to send back the defective unit. I will just have to do the normal cleaning routine until I get the new unit.

Sandi and the kids left Fort Worth a little after 6:00 this evening. So now I wait. They should be here around 10 or 11 tonight, In the meantime I am watching “ My Life As A Turkey”, very interesting! Then after that there is another interesting program on NOVA about what, how and why we eat the things we do and what happens when we do including using all of our senses, very educational.

Just heard from Sandi, they’re almost here, so I will close this post and wish you all a HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

Friday, November 16, 2012

This week has gone by so fast. There was church on Sunday and then on Monday I took some packages to the Post Office for mailing. Yep, you guessed it. They were closed for Veterans Day, but at least I was able to pick up my mail. I also went into San Antonio to Central Market and Whole Foods to get a few groceries.

we’re going to VA to Hunter and Carter

Road trip to Bastrop

Tuesday, after going back to the Post Office, I took a trip to the little town of Bastrop. It is about 40 miles NE of where I am at. A week or so back, one of our campers that I visited with, (also artists) mentioned that they enjoyed going through some of the small galleries there and suggested that I check it out. Well that’s what I did and yes there are some there. I visited with Judy who was at “The Art Connection”. I was able to show her some of my art and she gave me some advice on marketing it. Thank You , Judy. I will follow through on some of your suggestions.

The Art Connection in Bastrop TX

From Bastrop I went to Jerry’s Artarama in Austin to get some Acrylic Paints and Canvas Sheets. I want to try the acrylic media again. It has been a long time since the last time I used that media. Austin is not one of my favorite cities to drive in. I mad a couple of wrong turns and finally was able to find the art store. It was a lot easier going home as it was right on I35. There was a bit of traffic as I had to go through downtown, but once I was out of the city, it didn’t take to long to get back to San Marcos, where I stopped at Hobby Lobby to get a couple of mats for my paintings and headed home. I was only about 15 minutes away form home and pulled in just before it got dark.

Wednesday was taken up with laundry and stuff at home and Thursday it was back to work. It was just Sheila and me in the office. It got a little busy at times but it gave me practice on the computer. I’m beginning to get it , but there is so much to learn, so it will take time to be comfortable with it. Sheila actually left me in the office by myself a few times, but all I had to do was call her and she could be there if I needed her help. I actually worked eight hours. Normally I don’t work that many hours in one day, but we are gearing up for the festival. Today, I didn’t work other than to set up my table in the Clubhouse.

I’ll also be doing face painting.

“My Spot” is usually all by itself, but because of the Festival and the Formula One Race in Austin, I have neighbors on both sides. It is getting a bit crowded, although everyone is friendly and having a good time.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

It’s already Saturday. I really haven’t gone anywhere noteworthy. Although I did find a new Optometrist in San Marcos for my annual eye exam. Last week is when I made the appointment and had them send for my records from my doctor in California. When I went in for my appointment, I asked if they had gotten my records and the comment was “yes, all 22 pages.” Wow, I didn’t realize that I had been going there that long. There wasn’t much change, although I need to keep track of the growth of cataracts. I will have to go back for trial contacts and then order new ones.

I finally received the package that my son sent to the CG in West, TX. It is an internet radio. for my truck, except that it is the home unit and I will have to get the vehicle kit. At least it is set up at home for now. While at the Post Office, I got a P.O.Box, because I am at Leisure Resort and I reside there, it didn’t cost anything except $6.00 for the key. COOL!

I’m finally beginning to learn the computer, one step at a time. There is so much to learn, regarding check ins and reservations. Sheila wants to train me herself, but she is so busy that it is hard to focus for any length of time. The way that I learn is by actually doing, but as people check in, they have been on the road and want to get settled in as soon as possible. So she does it. I will be back in again today, so maybe we can walk through the process together. We are now preparing for the Pecan Festival on Saturday the 17th, That’s next Saturday! I will have a table set up for my art work and will also do face painting. I may even do an actual painting too.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Another day at work on Friday, I expected to learn more in the office, but maybe it was good that Sheila decided that she needed to spend more time outside. My brain needed some time to digest yesterday’s information. So I shadowed her and learned how to get the cabins ready to be occupied for the weekend and of course stopping to pick up bits of trash. This is a very clean park.

This is what is in the Country Cabin, the smallest. As you can see, it sleeps four.

There are specials where campers also get firewood, so we also delivered wood to those cabins. Then back in the office, we just schmoozed with some of the guests. One of the long term guests, who was leaving, brought us some long bamboo sticks, light weight and strong, that we can use for hiking. That was so sweet of him.

I normally will be working most weekends, but Sheila gave me Saturday off to volunteer Face Painting at the church for their Fall Festival. I needed to be there at nine in the morning. So after work, and a bite to eat and a little TV, I would be off to bed.

It has been really foggy for the last few days and when I got up, Saturday morning was no exception. When I got out on TX 80, visibility was at nearly zero. The speed limit in some places id 65 MPH and I can’t believe that some people actually go the speed limit when visibility is so bad. I certainly stayed away from those drivers. I would normally wait until the fog burns off and it did, to a certain extent, by the time I got into San Marcos. I took my time and still got there in plenty of time. I got all set up and then checked out all the vendors. In addition to the face painting, there was the bounce house, and several games that the kids could play. I think that the kids had the most fun throwing /smashing whipped cream “pies” at/in the faces of the teachers. Those were some really courageous teachers.

This little boy was my last subject of the day.

I was done by noon, after cleaning up, I just had to do my part and purchased some things from the bake sale and something for my daughter. Can’t say what it is, because she reads this. Also not saying which daughter. Sorry girls!

I had left Angel at home, so I went home to let her out and she needed some cuddling. I then decided to grill some salmon and vegetables using a Fire Wire. Thank you, Colleen, for suggesting that I get a small table top one at Wal-Mart. The timing was just perfect, as the wind picked up right when it was all done and by the time I got everything inside, it poured. It didn’t last long, but afterwards, I stayed inside, because the table and chairs were all wet. I then opened up some wine to have with dinner. It was really nice. I must have been really tired, as it wasn’t long before I took a nap. When I woke, I watched a bit of public television for a while and then went to bed, Yes I reset the one clock that needed it. All my other clocks reset them selves.

This morning, I was up early anyway, so I did a load of wash before getting ready for church. This morning there was no fog, so it was clear sailing all the way into San Marcos. After church there was a pot luck and things left from the bake sale. Of course I bought more, but gave some away to my fellow workampers. The rest went into the freezer.

I’m sticking close to home for the rest of the day. I may even bring the grill back out, but maybe not. I hope that you are all having a great weekend as I am.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Halloween was finally here,even though Angel and I celebrated the holiday last Saturday, I couldn’t let it go by without Angel showing off her costume.

Since I didn’t have to work, Angel and I took a ride up to Potter’s Creek COE CG, on Canyon Lake, TX, northeast of San Antonio and northwest of San Marcos. That’s where the Pink Flamingos were flocking. I joined Birdie and Colleen there in the morning and spent the day meeting and visiting with the ladies who had com from far and wide, some had even come from as far as Louisiana.

All day long we had additional visitors, the deer. There are a lot of deer in the park. there were four of them that hung around the campsite wishing and hoping to be fed. Campers are asked to not feed them or any of the wildlife. We didn’t but evidently some people have fed them. They had no fear of people and even when chased, they give you a look as to say “ are you crazy, we’re not going anywhere”.

They just followed Birdie back.

They came up really close to the pen (that’s part of it in the bottom right hand corner of the picture.) where Colleen’s dogs were and Angel was for a little while. I thought that they were a bit curious about those short legged animals. They just wandered all around the campsite, all day.

I didn’t stay for dinner as I did not want to drive back after dark, as there are so many deer out there on the road and I didn’t want to take the chance of hitting one. I also needed to get back because I had to work in the morning. So I said good bye and headed home just before 5 pm.

On the way back, I stopped to make an appointment at the eye doctor in San Marcos. I will need to order contacts and maybe get another pair of glasses.

This morning I began my training in the office. There is so much to learn, not only the computer, but also the different promotions, where everything is, office policies, and xo on and so forth. My head is swimming. Tomorrow I do it all over again.

After taking Angel for a short walk and fixing dinner, writing this post, it’s time to go to bed.